I’m starting a new series here where I take a look at a game that means a lot to me, or wows me to the point where I feel that I need to share it with others. Some of them may be newer titles, others could be decades old…but all could be called timeless.

With that being said, the game I’m going to recommend is one that I grew up with, and was pretty much one of the first games I could ever recollect, let alone play myself.

That game is Ensemble Studio’s 1999 masterpiece Age of Empires II.

I remember being four years old and watching my dad play this in our computer room. I was mesmerized as I peered over his shoulder, watching him building his civilization up, his armies, and attacking the enemy on the other side of the map. I loved the colors and music playing that brought the screen the life, and I was anxious to see what actions my dad would take next to take his campaign to the next level.

If you’re not quite sure what I’m talking about, Age of Empires II is a real-time strategy game released a little over twenty years ago, and is still fondly remembered as a classic that changed the landscape for real-time strategy games.

It can be as simple or as challenging as you would like to make it out to be…the creative freedom you have access to is almost overwhelming, at first. There are also many different campaigns that follow different historical heroes (or villains) on their journeys; as you play through each scenario for each campaign, you help move the stories along, and see what made each character legendary in their place and time.

The gameplay is simple enough to digest for even the newest of players. The basics include building towns and structures needed for basic defense and creation of new units – such as more villagers, monks, and a great variety of soldiers. Villagers can build houses to help your population grow, which is essential if you plan on conquering the enemy team through large armies.

Your village can start from any of four Ages: The Dark Age, the Feudal Age, the Castle Age, and the Imperial Age. You start out with the least available to you if you begin from the Dark Age. As your villagers gather more resources (Food, Wood, Stone, and Gold), you can advance to each next Age, which will have more to offer you as far as army units, buildings, and abilities.

There are different game modes that you can also choose to play, instead of just the story campaigns. There is a random generator that automatically creates a map for you to play in (with all kinds of different terrain for your choosing). You start off with only a few villagers and a scout, but the goal is still to defeat the enemy on the other side of the map, either through annihilating them by combat, or by building a wonder and protecting it until the timer runs out. If the wonder remains standing, you automatically win the game!

You also have a map editor where you can personally create your own map. If you’ve always dreamed of creating an army of one-thousand elephant units, three hundred kings, fifty villagers, and want an epic showdown between Joan of Arc and William Wallace, then this mode is for you!

One facet of Age of Empires II that I grew to love as I got older were the variety of nations you could play as. Of course, I was introduced to them by the different campaigns that I could play as (aside from the aforementioned ones, you could also play as other famous historical characters such as Genghis Khan, Barbarossa, Erik the Red, and Saladin).

One thing I didn’t mention was that there were two different Age of Empires II games that I actually played…both the original Age of Kings edition, and its expansion pack The Conquerors. Unbeknownst to me at such a young age, I grew up thinking the reverse was true – I had more of an attachment with the campaigns of El Cid, Attila the Hun, Oda Nobunaga, and so many more, than I did with the original base game!

With that being said, due to the popularity of this particular entry in the franchise, there have since been several spin-offs, remastered editions, and sequels. However, the original (or Special Edition, if you prefer an updated look while you’re playing) can be found on various platforms, such as Steam, Amazon, the Microsoft Store, and GOG.com.

I hope you take the time to check out this classic, and discover why it’s held a special heart in many gamers’ hearts (including my own), and why it’s considered one of the greatest games ever made!

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Are you interested in playing Age of Empires II, or have already played it and want to share your thoughts? Let me know in the comments or feel free to message me – I would love to hear what you think!